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Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

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21–30 of 41 posts

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#21
post #17
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you can move before reaching that point. It'll be a lot easier.

Well, you need the means. Not just the cost of moving; the residency or citizenship.

Isn’t that basically a matter of paying for it in some form?

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#22

No mention of medical costs at all? I'd expect that'd be a driving factor as even with platinum insurance you're going to be feeling the pinch due to medication costs, co-pay fees, and other supplies which aren't covered, not to mention the hassle of dealing with insurance companies.

Medicare will pay for medical care - drugs too through Medicare Part D. It won't pay for long term care. Think nursing home. If you can't pay for that then the best option is Medicaid. Medicaid is means tested so generally the people in that situation spend everything they have, declare bankruptcy and then go on Medicaid.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#23
post #4

Really very surprising that such a long piece doens't seem to mention once that the current crop of older Americans are teh first generation to live largely on credit, lived in houses 3x larger than previous generations, purchased 10x more new cars than previous generations, and have spending habits that far outstrip anything their progenitors would ever have considered. Yes, healthcare costs a lot, and social securi…

Having been peripherally involved with a small handful of that aging crop and their experiences with "security" I'm not sure you're being entirely fair by lumping all their ills together because they over-consumed. I'm not sure you noticed life around you but we're all but force-fed raw, unadulterated consumerism. Be that as it may, sure, careless spending seems like it would definitely be a contributing factor - cre…

>We are surrounded by vultures that eat the living in what seems like an "I've got mine and now I want yours." agenda that does nothing for society, rich or poor and continues practically unabated.

In other words, Capitalism working as intended.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#24
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or work on having the means to move to a country with a more sensible health care system before you reach that point.

At 34 now, I hope to. Can anyone recommend countries that are easy to move to? With urban environments and culture, without being too expensive for cost of living? I have tech skills but am not one of the trendy rich engineers. I commit my free time to art, as it brings me life. Unfortunately, it is increasingly unable to bring me survival.

Assuming you're American, look up the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#26
post #5

Oph. This is going to be bad for a long time. I'm not an economist but here are my basic thoughts: 1. Inflation has caught up to them 2. The lack of stable planning for those retiring This is going to devastate the middle class/lower class in expensive markets (I.e. CA and NYC where the parents support their kids starting out and in jobs where they can't sustain their lifestyle without extra support)

I actually think older americans in those expensive markets are relatively better off, assuming they own rather than rent.

At least at present, their homes are worth a considerable amount. Selling them off and moving to a comparable or smaller home in a low-cost area can make up for a significant amount of their failure to save adequately otherwise.

Obviously, that may not always be what they want to do, but at least they have an asset to work with. Those who are facing the same predicament and already live in the low-cost area, don't have that option.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been peripherally involved with a small handful of that aging crop and their experiences with "security" I'm not sure you're being entirely fair by lumping all their ills together because they over-consumed. I'm not sure you noticed life around you but we're all but force-fed raw, unadulterated consumerism. Be that as it may, sure, careless spending seems like it would definitely be a contributing factor - cre…

>We are surrounded by vultures that eat the living in what seems like an "I've got mine and now I want yours." agenda that does nothing for society, rich or poor and continues practically unabated. In other words, Capitalism working as intended.

I suppose, yeah. Maybe that's a valid point in that until we can (want to?) cordon off core social services (for the whole of society) from the reach of private capital then we will inherently continue to create and sustain a market that zeroes in on the truly vulnerable. For example services just like healthcare including aging with dignity in assisted living after they've either been taxed out or need help or both.

For that latter part I've witnessed two mind-numbingly ugly siphoning of all assets to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars a month until assets are gone and then they're forced out and into pretty sub-optimal situations and neither of these two examples started off anywhere near the edges of being poor but they certainly did die that way.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#28
post #25
post #16

They were talking about this on 1A last night (NPR). Apparently the average amount of debt, is something like 3 years worth of wages.

Does that include mortgage debt?

Probably not, since a mortgage is a lien on an asset you can sell for, assumably, about the cost of the loan.

Re: Bankruptcy Filings Surge Among Older Americans

#30
post #4

Really very surprising that such a long piece doens't seem to mention once that the current crop of older Americans are teh first generation to live largely on credit, lived in houses 3x larger than previous generations, purchased 10x more new cars than previous generations, and have spending habits that far outstrip anything their progenitors would ever have considered. Yes, healthcare costs a lot, and social securi…

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